Animal pen with removable dividers

ABSTRACT

A modular animal pen system comprises front and rear panels and opposed side panels extending between the front and rear panels to form a primary enclosure. The front panel has adjacent doorway apertures formed therein to receive respective selectively closable gates, and a mullion is disposed between the doorway apertures. The mullion has a first slot, and a second slot in the rear panel is in registration with the first slot. The animal pen system further comprises a removable divider panel whose longitudinal ends are sized to fit removably within the respective slots so that the divider panel can divide the primary enclosure into two secondary enclosures. The side and divider panels may be formed by interchangeable profile panels, and the front and rear panels may be formed by interchangeable face panels connectable end-to-end to form a junction slot therebetween sized to receive the longitudinal ends of the profile panels.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/927,306 filed on Jul. 13, 2020, entitled “ANIMALPEN WITH REMOVABLE DIVIDERS,” which is a continuation of and claimspriority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/690,924 filed on Aug.30, 2017, entitled “ANIMAL PEN WITH REMOVABLE DIVIDERS,” which claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/381,424 filed on Aug. 30, 2016, entitled “ANIMAL PEN WITH REMOVABLEDIVIDERS,” each of which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to animal pen systems.

BACKGROUND

When raising young animals such as calves, goats and the like, afterweaning the animals it is customary to begin with each animal in aseparate enclosure, and then place the animals together in groups oncethey have reached a certain level of maturity (e.g. a certain number ofweeks of age).

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes a modular pen system with removabledividers which can be arranged in a plurality of differentconfigurations to selectively group animals together or isolate themfrom one another.

In one aspect, a modular animal pen system comprises a front panel, arear panel and two opposed side panels secured to and extending betweenthe front panel and the rear panel to form a primary enclosure. Thefront panel has at least two adjacent doorway apertures formed therein;the doorway apertures being adapted to receive respective selectivelyclosable gates. The front panel also has a mullion disposed between theat least two doorway apertures. The mullion has a first slot formedtherethrough, and the rear panel has a second slot formed therethroughin registration with the first slot. The animal pen system furthercomprises a removable divider panel whose longitudinal ends are sized tofit removably within the respective slots so that, when the dividerpanel is positioned with its longitudinal ends within the respectiveslots, the divider panel extends between the front panel and the rearpanel so as to divide the primary enclosure into two secondaryenclosures.

In one embodiment, the front panel and the rear panel are formed by facepanels of identical construction so as to be interchangeable with oneanother whereby the first and second slots are mullion slots, and theside panels and the divider panel are formed by profile panels ofidentical construction so as to be interchangeable with one another.

In one embodiment, opposed longitudinal ends of the face panels areinterengageable with one another so that face panels can be connectedend-to-end and, when connected, the longitudinal ends of two adjacentface panels form a junction slot therebetween, with the junction slotbeing adapted to removably receive the longitudinal end of one of theprofile panels.

The mullion slots may be closed at inferior ends of the mullions andhave open ends at superior ends of the mullions.

In some embodiments, the longitudinal ends of the profile panels eachcomprise a longitudinally extending profile panel projection sized tofit removably within the mullion slots and the junction slots and atleast one shoulder disposed inwardly of the profile panel projection.The shoulders are positioned to cooperate to longitudinally trap theprofile panels between the front panel and the rear panel when theprofile panel projections are received in the first and second slots.

In certain embodiments, each face panel has a retention elementassociated with each mullion slot. The retention element is movablycarried by the respective face panel so as to be movable between a firstposition and a second position. In the first position the retentionelement obstructs the open end of the respective mullion slot forvertically trapping one of the profile panel projections in therespective mullion slot and in the second position the retention elementleaves the open end of the respective mullion slot unobstructed.

In some embodiments, the front panel and the rear panel are of differingconstruction, and opposed longitudinal ends of the rear panel areinterengageable with one another so that a plurality of the rear panelscan be connected end-to-end. When connected, the longitudinal ends oftwo adjacent rear panels form a rear panel junction slot therebetween.This rear panel junction slot is adapted to removably receive thelongitudinal end of one of the profile panels. Similarly, opposedlongitudinal ends of the front panel are interengageable with oneanother so that a plurality of the front panels can be connectedend-to-end. When connected, the longitudinal ends of two adjacent frontpanels form a front panel junction slot therebetween. This front paneljunction slot is adapted to removably receive the longitudinal end ofone of the profile panels.

Optionally, the longitudinal ends of the front panels and thelongitudinal ends of the rear panels are interengageable with oneanother so that the front panels and the rear panels can be connectedend-to-end with a junction slot therebetween.

In some embodiments, each of the first slots is closed at an inferiorend of the front panel and open at superior ends of the front panels,and each of the second slots is closed at inferior ends of the rearpanels and open at superior ends of the rear panels.

In some embodiments, the longitudinal ends of the profile panels eachcomprise a longitudinally extending profile panel projection sized tofit removably within the first slots, the second slots and the junctionslots, and at least one shoulder disposed inwardly of the profile panelprojection. The shoulders are positioned to cooperate to longitudinallytrap the profile panels between the front panel and the rear panel whenthe profile panel projections are received in the first and secondslots.

In particular embodiments, each front panel has a first retentionelement associated with its first slot and each rear panel has a secondretention element associated with its second slot. The first retentionelement and the second retention element are each movably carried by therespective front panel and rear panel so as to be movable between afirst position and a second position. In the first position, theretention element obstructs the open end of the respective slot tovertically trap one of the profile panel projections in the respectiveslot, and in the second position the retention element leaves the openend of the respective slot unobstructed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the followingdescription in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1A is a top perspective view of a first exemplary modular animalpen system according to an aspect of the disclosure, showinginstallation and removal of a divider panel thereof;

FIG. 1B is a top perspective view of the animal pen system of FIG. 1A,with the divider panel thereof installed;

FIG. 2A is a front elevation view of the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2B is a rear elevation view of the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5A is a front elevation view of an exemplary face panel for theanimal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5B is a rear elevation view of the face panel of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C shows end-to-end interconnection of two instances of the facepanel of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a side elevation view of a first exemplary profile panel forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6B is a side elevation view of a second exemplary profile panel forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6C is a side elevation view of a third exemplary profile panel forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 7A is a top perspective view of an exemplary retention element forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 7B is a side elevation view of the retention element of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7C is a front elevation view of the retention element of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 7D is a rear elevation view of the retention element of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary J-shaped rod;

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary feeding gate for the animal pen system of FIG.1A;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary confinement gate for the animal pen system ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary hinge bracket for the animal pen system ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 12A is a front elevation view of an exemplary alternate rear panelfor the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 12B is a rear elevation view of the alternate rear panel of FIG.12A;

FIG. 13A is a side elevation view of a fourth exemplary profile panelfor the animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 13B is a side elevation view of a fifth exemplary profile panel forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 13C is a side elevation view of a sixth exemplary profile panel forthe animal pen system of FIG. 1A; and

FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of a module of a second exemplarymodular animal pen system according to an aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1A to 3, in which an exemplary modularanimal pen system is indicated generally by reference 100. The animalpen system 100 is suitable for use with young animals that have recentlybeen weaned from their mothers, although it may be used with olderanimals as well. The exemplary animal pen system 100 may be used tohouse bovine calves; animal pen systems according to the presentdisclosure may also be used with other animals including pigs, sheep andgoats, for example.

The exemplary pen system 100 is modular, and each module 102 comprises afront panel 104A, a rear panel 104B and two opposed side panels 108Asecured to and extending between the front panel 104A and the rear panel104B to form an open-topped primary enclosure indicated generally byreference 110. The pen system 100 is intended primarily for indoor useand would rest on a generally planar floor of concrete, cement or othersuitable material and as such the pen system 100 has an open bottom.

The exemplary embodiment of the pen system 100 shown in the Figurescomprises two modules 102 joined end-to-end and sharing a common sidepanel 108A as will be described further below.

The front panel 104A and the rear panel 104B of each module 102 eachhave two adjacent open-topped doorway apertures 112A, 112B,respectively, formed therein, with a respective mullion 114A, 114Bdisposed between the doorway apertures 112A, 112B. The doorway apertures112A, 112B are adapted to receive respective selectively closable gates116, 118, for example by hinging the gates 116, 118 to hinge brackets119 (FIG. 11) secured on the front panel 104A and rear panel 104B, or byany other suitable technique. The front panel 104A and the rear panel104B and the gates 116, 118 may be provided with suitable latchingmechanisms. In the illustrated embodiment, two types of gate are shown:a feeding gate 116 which includes receptacles 120 for mounting buckets122 for food and water, and a confinement gate 118. The positions of thefeeding gate 116 and confinement gate 118 are interchangeable. FIGS. 9and 10 show the feeding gate 116 and confinement gate 118, respectively,in more detail and FIG. 11 shows an exemplary hinge bracket 119. Thereceptacles 120 on the feeding gate 116 permit the height at which thebuckets 122 are mounted to be adjusted. In particular, as shown in FIG.9, the receptacles 120 comprise a series of vertically spaced crossbars121, each of which can receive a bucket ring for supporting a bucket 122(FIGS. 1A, 1B and 3), and the height of the bucket ring (and hence ofthe bucket 122) can be adjusted by mounting the bucket ring on aselected one of the crossbars 121. Other feeding options include bottle,milkbar, nipple bucket or even robotic feeding systems. Optionally twoopposed feeding gates 116 may be used to double the feeding space and/orto support a robotic feeding system on one of the feeding gates 116 withfood and water buckets 122 on the opposite feeding gate 116; thisarrangement helps to avoid contamination of the food and water buckets122 by the robotic feeding system.

The mullions 114A, 114B each have a vertically extending mullion slot124A, 124B formed therethrough, and the front panel 104A and the rearpanel 104B of each module 102 are arranged such that the mullion slots124A, 124B are in registration with one another. Thus, the front panel104A has a first slot 124A formed therethrough and the rear panel 104Bhas a second slot 124B formed therethrough, with the second slot 124B inregistration with the first slot 124A.

Continuing to refer to FIGS. 1A to 3, each module 102 of the animal pensystem 100 further comprises a removable divider panel 108B whoselongitudinal ends 142, 144 are sized to fit removably within the mullionslots 124A, 124B. As can be seen in the Figures, when the divider panel108B is positioned with its longitudinal ends 142, 144 within themullion slots 124A, 124B, the divider panel 108B extends between thefront panel 104A and the rear panel 104B so as to divide the primaryenclosure 110 of that module 102 into two secondary enclosures 110A and110B. The removable divider panel 108B allows for calves (or other younganimals) to be housed individually, i.e. with a divider panel 108Binstalled, or grouped, i.e. with the divider panel 108B removed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the front panel 104A and the rear panel104B of each module 102 each have two adjacent doorway apertures 112A,112B and a single mullion 114A, 114B. In other embodiments, the frontpanel and the rear panel may have three doorway apertures and twomullions, four doorway apertures and three mullions, and so on, witheach mullion having a slot for a divider panel.

Without promising any particular utility, where both the front panel104A and the rear panel 104B have doorway apertures 112A, 112B, thisarrangement may provide increased flexibility for adding bedding andfeeding and may also facilitate improved airflow. In addition,embodiments in which both the front panel 104A and the rear panel 104Bhave doorway apertures 112A, 112B enable common components to be used.In the illustrated embodiment, both the front panel 104A and the rearpanel 104B are formed by face panels 504 (FIGS. 5A and 5B) of identicalconstruction so as to be interchangeable with one another. Similarly, inthe illustrated embodiment the side panels 108A and the divider panels108B are formed by profile panels 608 (FIGS. 6A to 6C) of identicalconstruction so as to be interchangeable with one another. Thus, in onepreferred embodiment, only two types of panel are used: face panels 504,which form the front panels 104A and the rear panels 104B, and profilepanels 608, which form the side panels 108A and the divider panels 108B.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, as best seen in FIGS. 1 to 3,the face panels 504, that is, the front panels 104A and the rear panels104B, can be connected end-to-end to join multiple modules 102 together.Any arbitrary number of modules 102 can be joined together end-to-end tocreate a calf pen system of any desired extent. When the face panels 504are so joined, junction slots 126A, 126B are formed between the adjacentfront panels 104A and the adjacent rear panels 104B, respectively; thejunction slots 126A, 126B are in registration with one another and eachjunction slot 126A, 126B is adapted to removably receive one of thelongitudinal ends of one of the profile panels 608. Thus, the individualmodules 102 can be separated from one another by a profile panel 608;alternatively the profile panel 608 may be omitted or removed so as tocombine the enclosures 110 of two or more adjacent modules 102 into asingle aggregate enclosure.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5A and 5B, in which an exemplary facepanel 504 is shown in more detail. As noted above, the face panel 504can be used as either the front panel 104A or the rear panel 104B, andas such has two adjacent doorway apertures 512 separated by a mullion514 with a mullion slot 524 formed therethrough. In the illustratedembodiment, the mullion slot 524 of each face panel 504 is closed at theinferior end 528 of the mullion 524 and has an open end 530 at thesuperior end 532 of the mullion 524. The face panel 504 includes aplurality of feet 534 for supporting the face panel 504 on a surface.

As described above, the face panels 504 can be connected end-to-end tojoin multiple modules 102 together and to achieve this, the opposedlongitudinal ends 536, 538 of the face panels 504 are interengageablewith one another. In the illustrated embodiment, interengagement isachieved by way of complementary fingers 540; FIG. 5C shows thelongitudinal ends 536, 538 of the face panels 504 interengaged with thejunction slot 526 formed between the opposed longitudinal ends 536, 538of the adjacent face panels 504. The complementary fingers 540 representmerely one exemplary configuration by which the longitudinal ends 536,538 of the face panels 504 may be interengaged; other configurations arealso contemplated.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 6A to 6C, which show several exemplaryprofile panels 608 of different lengths; by appropriately selecting thelength of the profile panels 608 the size of the enclosures 110 can beadjusted to accommodate different types of animals. FIG. 6A shows a 5′profile panel 608, FIG. 6B shows a 6′ profile panel 608 and FIG. 6Cshows a 7′ profile panel 608; these lengths are merely exemplary and theprofile panels 608 may be of any suitable length. For example, andwithout limitation, a profile panel may be shorter than those shown,e.g. 4′ in length, or longer than those shown, e.g. 8′ in length. Theprofile panels shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C differ from one anotheressentially only in their length and thus like reference numerals areused to refer to like features across FIGS. 6A to 6C.

As can be seen in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the opposed longitudinal ends 642, 644of the profile panels 608 each comprise a respective longitudinallyextending profile panel projection 646, 648 sized to fit removablywithin the mullion slots 124A, 124B, 524 and the junction slots 126A,126B, 526 and a respective inferior shoulder 650, 652 disposed inwardlyand inferiorly of the profile panel projection 646, 648. The inferiorshoulders 650, 652 are positioned so as to cooperate to longitudinallytrap the profile panels 608 between the front panel 104A and the rearpanel 104B when the profile panel projections 646, 648 are received inthe mullion slots 124A, 124B, 524 or the junction slots 126A, 126B, 526.More particularly, in the illustrated embodiment the inferior shoulders650, 652 will engage the inner surface of the inferior end 528 of themullion 524 or the inner surfaces of the lower fingers 540 to resistlongitudinal movement of the profile panel 608.

The profile panels 608 can be secured to the face panels 504 by, forexample, a rod-and-aperture system. Vertically aligned apertures 354(FIG. 3) are formed through the fingers 540 and the inferior end 528 ofthe mullion 524 on the face panels 504, and vertically aligned apertures356 (FIG. 3) are similarly formed through the profile panel projections646, 648 on the profile panels 608, for example by drilling. When theprofile panel projections 646, 648 are received in the mullion slots124A, 124B, 524 or the junction slots 126A, 126B, 526, the apertures354, 356 are in registration with one another so that a rod, such as theJ-shaped rod 558 shown in FIG. 8, can be passed through the apertures354, 356 to fasten the profile panels 608 to the face panels 504, or tofasten two face panels 504 together end-to-end (with or without aprofile panel 608).

As noted above, in the illustrated embodiment the mullion slots 124A,124B, 524 are closed at the inferior ends 528 of the mullions 524 andhave open ends 530 at the superior ends 532 of the mullions 524. As bestseen in FIGS. 1A to 3, in a preferred embodiment, each face panel 104A,104B has a retention element 760 associated with each mullion slot 124A,124B. The retention element 760 is movably carried by the respectiveface panel 104A, 104B so as to be movable between a first position,shown on the right side of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A and 3 and on the left sideof FIG. 2B, and a second position, shown on the left side of FIGS. 1A,1B, 2A and 3 and on the left side of FIG. 2B. In the first position, theretention element 760 obstructs the open end 530 of the respectivemullion slot 124A, 124B and thereby vertically traps the respectiveprofile panel projection 646, 648 in the respective mullion slot 124A,124B. In the second position, the retention element 760 leaves the openend 530 of the respective mullion slot 124A, 124B unobstructed. In theillustrated embodiment, the retention element 760 is pivotally carriedat a superior edge of the face panel 104A, 104B and rotates between thefirst position and the second position.

FIGS. 7A to 7D show various views of the exemplary retention element 760which, as seen in FIG. 7B, has a generally inverted J-shaped profilecomprising a relatively shorter projection 762 and a relatively longerprojection 764 spaced apart by and depending from a superior web 766 soas to straddle the width of the superior edge of the face panel 104A,104B, 504 when the retention element 760 is in the first position. Asseen in FIG. 7A, apertures 768 are formed through the superior web 770of the retention element 760 to accommodate the rod (e.g. the J-shapedrod 558 shown in FIG. 8). As such, each face panel 104A, 104B may havetwo retention elements, one associated with the mullion 124A, 124B andanother at one end of the face panel 104A, 104B to assist in connectingthe modules 102 end-to-end, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring again to FIGS. 6A to 6C, the opposed longitudinal ends 642,644 of the profile panels 608 each further comprise a respectivesuperior shoulder 672, 674 disposed inwardly and superiorly of theprofile panel projection 646, 648. When the retention element 760 is inthe first position, the superior shoulders 672, 674 will engage therelatively shorter projections 762 of the retention elements 760 toresist longitudinal movement of the profile panel 608 and therebylongitudinally trap the profile panels 608 between the front panel 104Aand the rear panel 104B when the profile panel projections 646, 648 arereceived in the mullion slots 124A, 124B, 524 or the junction slots126A, 126B, 526.

In the illustrated embodiment, the opposed longitudinal ends 642, 644 ofthe profile panels 608 each further comprise a respective intermediateshoulder 676, 678 disposed inwardly and superiorly of the profile panelprojection 646, 648 and inferiorly of the respective superior shoulder672, 674. When the retention element 760 is in the first position, theintermediate shoulders 676, 678 will extend beyond the relativelyshorter projections 762 of the retention elements 760 and, when theprofile panel 608 is used as a side panel, the intermediate shoulders676, 678 will engage the fingers 540 of the face panels 504 to furtherresist longitudinal movement of the profile panel 608.

Reference is now made specifically to FIGS. 1A and 1B, as well as FIG.4. As noted above, each module 102 of the animal pen system 100comprises a removable divider panel 108B (e.g. a profile panel 608)whose longitudinal ends 142, 144 are sized to fit removably within themullion slots 124A, 124B to divide the primary enclosure 110 of thatmodule 102 into two 110A and 110B. The removable divider panel 108Ballows for calves (or other young animals) to initially be housedindividually, i.e. with a divider panel 108B installed, as shown on theleft side of FIG. 1B, or grouped, i.e. with the divider panel 108Bremoved, as shown on the right side of FIG. 1B.

To install a divider panel 108B, the J-shaped rods 558 are removed andthe retention elements 760 associated with the mullions 114A, 114B thatwill receive the divider panel 108B are moved to the second position soas to leave the open end 530 of the respective mullion slot 124A, 124Bunobstructed. The divider panel 108B can then be slid longitudinallythrough one of the mullion slots 124A, 124B until the profile panelprojections 646, 648 are positioned in the mullion slots 124A, 124B, andthen slid downwardly so that the inferior shoulders 650, 652 trap thedivider panel 108B between the front panel 104A and the rear panel 104B.The retention elements 760 are then moved to the first position toobstruct the open end 530 of the respective mullion slot 124A, 124B andvertically trap the profile panel projections 646, 648 in the respectivemullion slot 124A, 124B. The J-shaped rods 558 can then be reinsertedthrough the apertures 768 in the retention element into the verticallyaligned apertures 354, 356. To remove a divider panel 108B, the processis reversed. FIG. 4 and the left side of FIG. 1A show how a dividerpanel 108B can be inserted or withdrawn.

A similar process can be used to install or remove a side panel 108A,except with the additional step of separating the adjacent front panels104A and rear panels 104B and disengaging the complementary fingers 540.This permits the side panel 108A to be slid into or out of positionbetween the adjacent front panels 104A and rear panels 104B. Once theside panel has been inserted or removed, the adjacent front panels 104Aand rear panels 104B are moved back together and the complementaryfingers 540 are re-engaged; where a side panel 108A has been insertedits profile panel projections 646, 648 will then be horizontally trappedin the junction slot 126.

Animals (e.g. calves) can be housed individually by using the sidepanels 108A and divider panels 108B to separate them and then grouped asrequired by removing one or more side panels 108A and/or divider panels108B; one or more animals can also be isolated (e.g. for health reasons)by re-installing one or more side panels 108A and/or divider panels108B. As noted above, any arbitrary number of modules 102 can be joinedtogether end-to-end to create a calf pen system of any desired extent;by installing or removing one or more side panels 108A and/or dividerpanels 108B, the calf pen system can be subdivided into a variety ofdifferent enclosure configurations.

In the above-described embodiment, only two types of panel are used:face panels, which form both the front panels and the rear panels, andprofile panels, which form both the side panels and the divider panels.In other embodiments, the front and rear panels may be of differingdesign and construction.

For example, in some embodiments only the front panel may have doorwayapertures and the rear panel may simply be provided with one or moreslots for the divider panel(s), and may optionally be provided withadditional ventilation features. For example, FIGS. 12A and 12B show anexemplary alternative rear panel 1204 incorporating a rotary vent, inwhich features corresponding to those of the exemplary face panel 504are indicated with identical reference numerals, except with the prefix“12” instead of “5”. The alternative rear panel 1204 has a plurality ofventilation apertures 1206 formed therethrough and on which a vent cover1208 (FIG. 12A) having a plurality of vent cover apertures 1210 isrotatably mounted. The vent cover 1208 is mounted on what will be theexterior of the alternative rear panel 1206. By rotating the vent cover1208 relative to the alternative rear panel 1204, one or more of thevent cover apertures 1210 can be moved into and out of registration withone or more corresponding ventilation apertures 1206 in the alternativerear panel 1204 to provide a desired amount of ventilation. The rearpanels 1204 each include a slot 1224 that is closed at the inferior end1228 of the rear panel 1204 and has an open end 1230 at the superior end1232 of the rear panel 1204: this slot 1224 is adapted to receive one ofthe profile panels 608 described above or one of the profile panels 1308described below. Similarly to the face panels 504, opposed longitudinalends 1236, 1238 of the rear panels 1204 are interengageable with oneanother so that the rear panels 1204 can be connected end-to-end and,when connected, the longitudinal ends 1236, 1238 of two adjacent rearpanels form a rear panel junction slot (not shown) therebetween. Therear panel junction slot is adapted to removably receive one of theprofile panels 608 described above or one of the profile panels 1308described below. In embodiments that incorporate the rear panels 1204,the face panels 504 may serve as front panels, and are interengageablewith one another end-to-end to form front panel junction slots and canreceive the profile panels 608 as described above (or alternatively oneof the profile panels 1308 described below). The exemplary rear panels1204 can also incorporate a retention element such as the exemplaryretention element 760 described above.

Where the front and rear panels are of differing construction, it isonly necessary that each type of panel be interengeagable for end-to-endconnection with panels of that type so as to form a junction slottherebetween. Although preferable, it is not necessary that front panelsbe interengageable with rear panels.

In some cases, the animals contained in the pen system 100 may attemptto make contact with one another despite the profile panels 608, forexample by sticking their heads through the feeding gates 116 andextending their heads past the front profile panel projection 648. Toinhibit this, the profile panels may be provided with a partitionextension element extending outwardly and upwardly from the frontprofile panel projection. FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C show alternateembodiments of profile panels 1308 which each include such a partitionextension element. The alternate profile panels 1308 shown in FIGS. 13Ato 13C are generally similar to the profile panels 608 shown in FIGS. 6Ato 6C, with like reference numerals denoting like features except withthe prefix “13” instead of “6”. Thus, the longitudinal ends 1342, 1344of the profile panels 1308 each comprise a respective longitudinallyextending profile panel projection 1346, 1348, sized to fit removablywithin the slots 524 in the face panels 504, within the slots 1224 inthe rear panels 1204, and within the junction slots (e.g. junction slots126A, 126B, 526 and the junction slots between interengaged rear panels1204). FIG. 13A shows a 5′ profile panel 1308, FIG. 13B shows a 6′profile panel 1308 and FIG. 13C shows a 7′ profile panel 1308; theselengths are merely exemplary and the profile panels 1308 may be of anysuitable length.

The alternate profile panels 1308 each include a partition extensionelement 1380 extending outwardly and upwardly from the front profilepanel projection 1348. The interior edge 1382 of the partition extensionelement 1380, i.e. the inner edge of the portion of the partitionextension element 1380 that extends beyond the front panel projection1348, is spaced from the front superior shoulder 1374 and frontintermediate shoulder 1378 so as to form a recess 1384 which can receivethe retention element 760. The shoulders 1374, 1378 are positioned tocooperate to longitudinally trap the profile panels 1308 between thefront panel (e.g. face panel 504) and the rear panel (e.g. face panel504 or rear panel 1204) when the profile panel projections 1346, 1348are received in the slots 524, 1224, 126A, 126B, 526, etc. The alternateprofile panels 1308 can be secured to the face panels 504 and/or therear panels 1204 by, for example, the same rod-and-aperture systemdescribed above, and can accommodate a retention element, for examplethe same exemplary retention element 760 described above.

FIG. 14 shows a module 1402 of another exemplary modular pen system1400. The module 1402 comprises a front panel formed by one of the facepanels 504, a rear panel 1204 with a rotary vent and two opposed sidepanels formed by profile panels 1308 having partition extension elements1380, with a third profile panel 1308 serving as a divider panel. Theprofile panels 1308 are secured to and extend between the front panel504 and the rear panel 1204 to form an open-topped primary enclosureindicated generally by reference 1410. The doorway apertures 512 of theface panel 504 serving as the front panel receive respective feedinggates 116.

The pen systems 100, 1400 described herein are intended primarily forindoor use and would rest on a generally planar floor of concrete,cement or other suitable material and as such the pen systems 100, 1400have an open bottom.

The face panels 504, rear panels 1204 and profile panels 608, 1308 maybe made, for example, by rotational molding.

Certain currently preferred embodiments have been described by way ofexample. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that a numberof variations and modifications can be made without departing from thescope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A modular animal pen system, comprising at leastone module, wherein each module comprises: at least one front panel; atleast one rear panel; two opposed side panels secured to and extendingbetween the at least one front panel and the at least one rear panel toform a primary enclosure; the at least one front panel having at leasttwo adjacent doorway apertures formed therein, the doorway aperturesbeing adapted to receive respective selectively closable gates; the atleast one front panel having a first slot disposed between the at leasttwo doorway apertures; the at least one rear panel having a second slotin registration with the first slot; the animal pen system furthercomprising a removable divider panel whose longitudinal ends are sizedto fit removably within the respective slots so that, when the dividerpanel is positioned with its longitudinal ends within the respectiveslots, the divider panel extends between the at least one front paneland the at least one rear panel so as to divide the primary enclosureinto two secondary enclosures; the divider panel being formed by aprofile panel having a front longitudinal end comprising: alongitudinally extending profile panel projection sized to fit removablywithin the first slot; and a partition extension element extendingoutwardly and upwardly from the front profile panel projection beyondthe at least one front panel.
 2. The modular animal pen system of claim1, wherein: the front panel and the rear panel are formed by face panelsof identical construction so as to be interchangeable with one another.3. The modular animal pen of claim 2, wherein: opposed longitudinal endsof the face panels are interengageable with one another so that facepanels can be connected end-to-end; and when connected, the longitudinalends of two adjacent face panels form a junction slot therebetween, thejunction slot being adapted to removably receive the longitudinal end ofone of the profile panels.
 4. The modular animal pen system of claim 3,wherein: the first slots are closed at inferior ends of the at least onefront panel and have open ends at superior ends of the at least onefront panel.
 5. The modular animal pen system of claim 4, wherein: thelongitudinal ends of the profile panels each further comprise at leastone shoulder disposed inwardly of the profile panel projection; whereinthe shoulders are positioned to cooperate to longitudinally trap theprofile panels between the front panel and the rear panel when theprofile panel projections are received in the first and second slots. 6.The modular animal pen system of claim 1, wherein the side panels andthe divider panel are formed by profile panels of identical constructionso as to be interchangeable with one another.
 7. The modular animal penof claim 6, wherein: the at least one front panel and the at least onerear panel are of differing construction; opposed longitudinal ends ofthe at least one rear panel are interengageable with one another so thata plurality of the rear panels can be connected end-to-end; whenconnected, the longitudinal ends of two adjacent rear panels form a rearpanel junction slot therebetween, the rear panel junction slot beingadapted to removably receive the longitudinal end of one of the profilepanels; opposed longitudinal ends of the at least one front panel areinterengageable with one another so that a plurality of the front panelscan be connected end-to-end; when connected, the longitudinal ends oftwo adjacent front panels form a front panel junction slot therebetween,the front panel junction slot being adapted to removably receive thelongitudinal end of one of the profile panels.
 8. The modular animal pensystem of claim 7, wherein: each of the front panel junction slots isclosed at an inferior end of the front panel and open at superior endsof the front panels; and each of the rear panel junction slot is closedat inferior ends of the rear panels and open at superior ends of therear panels.
 9. The modular animal pen system of claim 8, wherein: thelongitudinal ends of the profile panels each further comprise: at leastone shoulder disposed inwardly of the profile panel projection; whereinthe shoulders are positioned to cooperate to longitudinally trap theprofile panels between the front panel and the rear panel when theprofile panel projections are received in the first and second slots.10. The modular animal pen system of claim 9, wherein: each at least onefront panel has a first retention element associated with its firstslot; each at least one rear panel has a second retention elementassociated with its second slot; each of the first retention element andthe second retention element is movably carried by the respective frontpanel and rear panel so as to be movable between: a first position inwhich the retention element obstructs the open end of the respectiveslot for vertically trapping one of the profile panel projections in therespective slot; and a second position in which the retention elementleaves the open end of the respective slot unobstructed.